Syria resumes clashes with militants as truce ends: Report

Syrian government forces and foreign-backed Takfiri militants have reportedly resumed fighting in three key areas, including the southwestern city of Zabadani and two villages, following the expiry of a two-day truce between them.

“The ceasefire has collapsed in Zabadani, Fuaa, and Kefraya this morning,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

Situated about 12 kilometers (seven miles) from the Jdeida border crossing on the Damascus-Beirut highway, Zabadani is one of the last militant strongholds near the Lebanese border.

Fuaa and Kefraya are also two government-held villages in the Idlib province, which have been surrounded by an alliance of Takfiri militants, including terrorists of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

According to Abdel Rahman, “there are clashes and shelling in Zabadani,” and militants “are shelling Fuaa and Kafraya.”

The 48-hour truce had come into force at 6:00 a.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Thursday.

The temporary halt in clashes came as Syrian army soldiers backed by fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement had already made some advances in Zabadani, clearing the militants from key areas in the town.

The foreign-sponsored conflict in Syria, which flared in March 2011, has reportedly claimed more than 240,000 lives up until now.

The United Nations (UN) says the militancy has displaced more than 7.2 million Syrians internally, and compelled over four million others to take refuge in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon.